Author: ShapedByTruth

What God thinks about with Witchcraft and Divination…

Lev 19:31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

Lev 20:6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

Mic 5:12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:

Deu 18:10-12 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or a fortune-teller, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or one who calls to the dead. For all that do these things are an abomination to Jehovah. And because of these abominations Jehovah your God drives them out from before you.

2Ki 21:6 And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times and used fortune-tellers. And he dealt with familiar spirits and wizards. He worked much wickedness in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger.

2Ki 23:24 Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.

1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

1Ch 10:13-14 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.

2Ch 33:6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

Isa 19:3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.

Jer 10:2-6 thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen,
and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.  They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord;thou art great, and thy name is great in might.

Jer 27:9-10 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: 10 for they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.

Isa 8:19-22 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?  To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.  And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

Zec 10:2 For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie,
and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.

Nah 3:4 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well favoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

And in case anyone thinks anything changed from old testament to new…

Act 8:9-24 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.

Act 13:6-12 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus: 7 which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. 9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, 10 and said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

Act 19:19-20 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.

Gal 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Why Sex and Witchcraft sell: Why are shows about witchcraft and divination so popular right now? Note that witchcraft is listed as a “work of the flesh” right along with sexual sins and idolatry. While men are most often plagued with sexual lusts of the flesh, women are most often plagued with a fleshly lust for spiritual power (witchcraft). It is an easy sell if marketers target built-in appetites and lusts, stuff the bible calls “works of the flesh”. Praise God that we no longer have to be servants to the flesh because of Jesus. We can choose to walk in the Spirit which is life, and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh wherein is death.

1 Corinthians 10:19-23 What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.

Note that no matter how pretty the idol looks or who it looks like, there is a devil behind it.

1Ti 4:1-2 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

Rev 9:20-21 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Exo 22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

Lev 20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

Should we kill them? Do like Paul and cast the devils out of them!

Act 16:16-18 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: the same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

Why bother seeking after lying spirits? They are a cheap imitation of the Holy Ghost. Why settle for a spirit of fear, when you can have a Spirit of Love, Power, and a Sound Mind?

 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

Matthew 22:32

The more I read the bible and listen to bible teachings, the more I want to read and hear more. The more I feed the spirit, the more the spirit has influence over me.

When our daughter became ready to start on solid foods, we would puree fresh and cooked vegetables and make our own baby food. Of course at first our daughter did not always like the concoctions. We found if we would spoon feed her and put a little on the roof of her mouth, she would have to work her tongue over it again and again to get it off. Eventually, she developed a taste for and liking of vegetables and salads that persists to this day.

Even if you have trouble “getting into” the Word of God at first, keep spending time in it. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Ask Him to reveal His Word to you and bring to rememberance everything He has said through His Holy Spirit. Ask Him to plant a desire in your heart to learn more about Him. One day you’ll find God’s Word “jump” inside you with revelation and power, and you will find that you want more and more.

Consider the following:

John 8:3-11

And the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman taken in adultery. And standing her in the midst, they said to Him, Teacher, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the Law commanded us that such should be stoned. You, then, what do you say?

They said this, tempting Him so that they might have reason to accuse Him. But bending down, Jesus wrote on the ground with His finger, not appearing to hear.

But as they continued to ask Him, He lifted Himself up and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.

And again bending down, He wrote on the ground.

And hearing, and being convicted by conscience, they went out one by one, beginning at the oldest, until the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

And bending back up, and seeing no one but the woman, Jesus said to her, Woman, where are the ones who accused you? Did not one give judgment against you?

And she said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said to her, Neither do I give judgment. Go, and sin no more.

Jesus forgave the woman of adultry, but he did not say anything about adultry no longer being a sin. He told her to go and sin no more. This both acknowledges that adultry is still a sin, and even after we are forgiven we are not to go about doing it again.

Another example can be seen in John 5:14 where Jesus had told the lame man at the pool of Bethesda to take up his bed and walk.

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, Behold, you are made whole. Sin no more lest a worse thing come to you.

Recently, I’ve seen where some folks are going around saying that sin has ceased to exist because Jesus has forgiven us all of everything no matter what.

I definitely agree that we are saved by grace and not by works. God has done His part, and there is nothing we can do to earn or deserve it. However, we still have a part to play. We still need to confess our sins for what they are and repent of them, and then receive the forgiveness of our sins that has already been purchased for us. Note that this is not a religious work, but an act in faith to recieve what God has promised.

Grace does not stop sin from being sin. God’s forgiving a sin does not mean that the behavior is not longer a sin, only that the eternal consequences of the sin are no longer held against us.

Sin is still sin. Just because we are living in grace does not mean that anything that was once considered to be sin, an abomination, a work of the flesh, or rebellion has stopped being so.

God still hates sin and will not tolerate it to exist in His presence. It is because He loves us so much that He made a provision for the forgiveness of our sins through the sacrifice and resurrection of His Son, Jesus, the Lamb of God without spot or blemish.

Do not cover sin

Those who try to rationalize and redefine behaviors as not being sin are only trying to cover or hide their sin. Something is sin because God’s Word has called it sin.

No group can vote to make something no longer a sin, no TV personality can casually laugh it away, no popularity poll can change God’s opinion of it, no court can redefine it, and no psychology can help you cope with it.

Psa 32:5 I confessed my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, I will confess my transgression to God; and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Repent of sin

Repentance is turning away from the sin and not returning to it.

When we repent of our sin, God wipes away the eternal consequences of sin; however, we may still have some immdediate consequences to deal with. There are always consequences to sin. There are both temporal and eternal consequences to sin. When we sow to the flesh (sin), we reap of the flesh.

Luk 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

The most effective way to repent of sin and not repeat it, is to develop the same attitude toward it that God has.

Exhortation

It takes faith to please God. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Faith works by love. Love motivates us to want a closer relationship with God. Love motivates us to not let other junk (sin, rebellion, lusts of the flesh, doubt, unbelief) get in the way and come between us and God.

Even when we don’t necessarily feel love, we can choose to continue to act in love. This is the prime aspect of believing — the acting on the basis of what the Word of God says instead of what our flesh desires.

We have been delivered from slavery to sin, don’t let the flesh try and convince you otherwise. Having been delievered from this bondage gives us a choice.

It is utterly foolish to dabble in petty sins and give place to satan to come in and steal, kill, and destroy all the blessings that God has in store for us.

God has so many good things laid out on the table for us through His Spirit. Anything that the flesh has to offer pales in comparison!

God has written His law on our hearts. When we seek Him first and act in Love, when we are consumed with His purposes, the temptations to sin loose their hold.

Taste and see that the Lord is GOOD!

The Gospel is not about denominations or traditions of men. It is about God’s grace and mercy. It is about faith, hope, and love. It is about us repenting of our sins, accepting that Jesus paid for our sins, and chosing to live for Him.

Typically, there is nothing wrong with a tradition that does not go against God’s Word. Traditions can be good and healthy so long as they do not come between the individual and God. You can have basically a variety of traditions or no traditions at all. If you were to want to follow some traditions, I would recommend looking for traditions that are described in the bible — particularly traditions that Jesus practiced. Just don’t fall into the trap of exhalting traditions above having a direct, close, daily relationship with your heavenly Father.

Benefits of Traditions:
1. Develops and maintains an identity.
2. Serve as a reminder to keep God and His Word at the forefront of the person’s mind.
3. Most effective means of teaching principles to children, new believers, and, well, pretty much everybody.

Any traditions you choose need to meet the following criteria:

1. Does not go against or violate God’s word
2. Glorifies God, points to God, or points to principles from God’s Word.
3. Does not come between the worshipper and God.
4. Never be viewed as a way to impress God, earn “spirit” points, salvation, or holiness.
5. Does not take the place of love and is not used as a basis of judging others. (1Cor 13:1-13)
6. Does not stop you from doing what Jesus has commissioned us to do, particularly in terms of ministering to people’s needs and taking the gospel to them.

We are a new creature. From spiritual death, we are reborn in the spirit. We have the mind of Christ available to us after rebirth. We are then able to choose death or life. To live carnally after the flesh is death, to live after the spirit is life. Crucify the flesh, choose to follow the spirit.

— What you fill yourself with gains influence over your heart.

Your heart softens to what you spend time on. What you spend time doing, reading, hearing, or watching. Your heart hardens to what you do not spend time on.

— What you dwell on gets greater influence over your heart.

You tend to become what you focus your attention on.

Your flesh will occassionally “ping” your conciousness with an appetite, lust or desire. Even though your flesh is dead and crucified with Christ, it still tries and convince you otherwise by “pinging” your senses and injecting thoughts (fiery darts) into your mind.

1Co 10:13 No temptation has taken you but what is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but with the temptation also will make a way to escape, so that you may be able to bear it.

In addition to the wiles of the flesh, satan communicates with you through your flesh. Even after you have victory over the lusts of the flesh, he will continue to try and tempt you through these lusts. While the flesh is dead, it still tries to act like it isn’t.

The difference between the old man and the new birth is that now you have a choice. Your are no longer a child of satan, instead you have a Heavenly Father. You can make the choice NOT to allow those thoughts to take hold by choosing not to dwell on them.

If you dwell on appetites and desires of the flesh, then those appetites and desires get stronger.

— What you feed gets greater influence over your heart.

If you cater to and feed the flesh, the flesh grows in influence over your heart. Every time you give in to a fleshly desire, that reinforces that desire and it will come back stronger next time.

For example, I have had a history as a nervous eater. I tend to eat when I get nervous about something even when I’m not hungry or have just eaten a regular meal. Every time I give in to an urge to eat when faced with these feelings, I reinforce those feelings and they come back stronger again and again. When I resist these urges, they start off “strong” and eventually weaken the longer I resist them.

— Resist satan, and he will flee

If you resist evil thoughts and lies that attempt to exalt themselves against the wisdom of God, then they will retreat. The more you resist them, the harder your heart becomes toward them and the weaker they will become.

— Flee from tempting situations

While you are to resist satan, don’t purposely hang around in situations where temptations abound.

Don’t get yourself into or remain in situations where temptations could become overwhelming. Follow Joseph’s example and flee from temptation.

— You can change your tastes

The more I read the bible and listen to bible teachings, the more I want to read and hear more. The more I feed the spirit, the more the spirit has influence over me.

Amalykites were a problem for Israel while they were in the wilderness. Turns out they were were also in the promise land along with a whole bunch of new giants and enemies.

Just when you are about to get a taste of the promise, all the enemies old and new are standing between you and the promised land.

The 12 spies returned from the promised land, 10 of 12 saw only the natural, and had a natural reaction to it. They said “we were in our own sight as grasshoppers”. All 12 saw the same things, but had different reactions to it. The spies only considered their natural capabilities (instead of trusting God’s capabilities). The 10 spies are in effect saying God is foolish for giving them the opportunity to enter the promised land.

Saul did not kill off the Amalykites once and for all when he had the chance, so they continued being a problem.

If I were truly holy, then I would not need to raise my hands in worship of the God who loves me in spite of my imperfections. I raise my hands and give a sacrifice of praise to the God who has shown me mercy when I have deserved wrath, and grace that I have not earned.

If I were truly “spiritual” at all times, then I would not need to pray in the spirit. I pray in the spirit for edification, for greater sensitivity to the spirit, for building up that connection to the spirit. When I pray in the spirit, I am feeding my spirit instead of the flesh. I am drawing closer to and in greater communion with the Spirit of God.

If I knew what to pray at all times, then I would not need to pray in the spirit. When I pray in the spirit, the spirit gives me utterance and I give thanks well, I pray as I ought. I will pray in the spirit and with understanding.

So many people have it backwards. Raising hands, singing spiritual songs, praying, and excercising spiritual gifts are NOT badges of spirituality or a measure of how “good” a christian I am. They are a means of drawing closer to God. I do these things because I am not as near to God as I want and need to be — NOT because I want to show off I am somehow closer to God than other people.

I bring in the sacrifice of praise. I enter His gates with thanksgiving and enter His courts with praise. I do these things whether I feel like doing it or not. I do these things the same whether I am alone or in a group of people. I do these things because God has prescribed them in His Word as means to draw closer to Him.

Granted, there are people who do these things as an act of trying to show off in front of other people. They do it for the admiration of those around them. Verily, they have their reward. The praises of men are temporary, fleeting, and quickly forgotten.

Praising and worshiping God brings a reward that is both immediate and everlasting. I draw closer to God, I build a stronger sensitivity of the spirit. Even if I don’t feel like praising and worshiping, I do it anyway and eventually my feelings catch up.

Consider the following scenario:

A rapist and murderer lives their whole life in sin and rebellion, and there on their deathbed they repent and decide to recieve Jesus at the last minute before they die, then they go on to heaven and eternal life.

I agree that on the surface the possiblity of this can be very frustrating for those who have tried to live thier lives as a “good person” and do the right things. I do not know anyone who hasn’t at one time or another felt similar to the brother of the prodigal son as in Luke 15:11-32

“All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day’s work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, ‘Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast–barbecued beef!–because he has him home safe and sound.’ “The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. The son said, ‘Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!’ “His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours–but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!'” Luk 15:25-32 (MSG)

Of course when we feel this way, we are forgeting that we are not saved by works, we are saved by Grace.

For we ourselves also were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, slaving for various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Tit 3:3-7 (MKJV)

This is a very good thing. I would not even want to get in the business of trying to somehow earn salvation. It would be a whole lot of work for nothing, as earning salvation is quite simply impossible. It has already been given as a free gift, all we have to do is repent and recieve it in faith.

Last minute saves are a small “price to pay” for it to be possible for us to recieve God’s mercy (not giving us what we deserve) and God’s grace (giving us what we don’t deserve).

Plus, we too quickly forget that by living for God in this life we have victory, provision, health, and abundance even on this side of eternity. On top of that we are building up treasure in heaven and have an inheritance awaiting us. Those who live in bondage to sin and repent at the last minute, even though the eternal consequences are forgiven, they still have the temporal consequences to deal with in this life in addition to having spent their inheritance.

But what does it say? “The Word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart”; that is, the Word of Faith which we proclaim;

Because if you confess the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation.

For the Scripture says, “Everyone believing on Him shall not be put to shame.”

For there is no difference both of Jew and of Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call on Him.

For everyone, “whoever shall call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Rom 10:8-13 (MJKV)

I heard this one today on Jerry Zirkle’s radio show:

“If all that stands between you and God is a hypocrite, then that puts the hypocrite closer to God than you are.”

That puts to words something that has been rolling around in the back of my mind the past couple of days.

Basically it relates to the fact that we should always look to Jesus and seek Him, and not let the antics of those around us be a distraction. If they cause someone to stumble, they will get their “reward” down the line–and it won’t be pleasant!

I have been recently saying:

The best witnesses for God are Christians, and as it turns out, the best witnesses for satan are “christians” too.

There seems to be so many self-righteous, judgemental, gossipy people out there. No matter what church you go to, you will always find some. It never fails that they are the ones that end up in the news and on tv shows as they are far more entertaining. These are the “tares” that grow up among the wheat. (Mat 13:25-30).

Expect to meet them. Pray for them and love them the same as you would anyone. Whatever you do, don’t let them stand between you and God.